Welcome Guest!
In order to take advantage of all the great features that Waterloo Region Connected has to offer, including participating in the lively discussions below, you're going to have to register. The good news is that it'll take less than a minute and you can get started enjoying Waterloo Region's best online community right away.
or Create an Account




Thread Rating:
  • 0 Vote(s) - 0 Average
  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
One Young (née Mayfair Hotel) | 5 fl | Complete
#16
yowza!

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-...-1.3036601



The City of Kitchener has ordered the demolition of the Mayfair Hotel in the downtown "because of significant structural issues identified by two separate structural engineer's reports," according to a release.

"The Order was issued because of significant structural issues identified by two separate structural engineer's reports. According to a report by MTE Consultants, hired to do an independent assessment by the City, some of the structural deficiencies pose "immediate life safety concerns," the city said in a release.

"Additionally, the MTE report indicates 'the building is in an unsafe and unstable condition' that requires immediate attention given the location of the building and the pedestrian and vehicular traffic around the property. This came to light as a result of a water service break on the weekend."

More to come
Reply


#17
Seems that the underground water pipe that burst the other day must have undermined the foundation on the Young St side. Is it fair to call this development shocking, but not particularly surprising? CTV News reported this evening that the demolition permit could be issued as early as tomorrow, although the building's heritage designation must also be dealt with. One thing I'm not clear on is whether it's the six storey tower that must come down, or the entire building including the three storey section.

http://kitchener.ctvnews.ca/demolition-o...-1.2331196
Reply
#18
(04-16-2015, 06:31 PM)panamaniac Wrote: CTV News reported this evening that the demolition permit could be issued as early as tomorrow, although the building's heritage designation must also be dealt with.

If there is indeed something historic about this building I hope they make efforts to preserve the facade.
Reply
#19
Seems to be easy enough to do; happens in Toronto all the time.
Reply
#20
In this case it seems unlikely. We may know more tomorrow, but the initial reports make it sound like the building is in danger of collapse. It can't be a coincidence that Young Street has been closed off.
Reply
#21
(04-16-2015, 09:15 PM)panamaniac Wrote: In this case it seems unlikely.  We may know more tomorrow, but the initial reports make it sound like the building is in danger of collapse.  It can't be a coincidence that Young Street has been closed off.

But they said there is no danger on King St, so presumably they could scaffold the front side and demolish the rest.
Reply
#22
(04-16-2015, 09:17 PM)BuildingScout Wrote:
(04-16-2015, 09:15 PM)panamaniac Wrote: In this case it seems unlikely.  We may know more tomorrow, but the initial reports make it sound like the building is in danger of collapse.  It can't be a coincidence that Young Street has been closed off.

But they said there is no danger on King St, so presumably they could scaffold the front side and demolish the rest.

According to the Record, there will be a special meeting of City Council on April 23rd to deal with the building's heritage status, which must be removed before demolition.  It would be terrific if the façade could be saved but I don't know if the owner would be inclined to spend the money.  At a minimum, I would want more information as to why the three storey section (east side of the building) couldn't be saved. 
Reply


#23
Wow. That came out of nowhere.

I wonder if they'll design the new building to match, or incorporate something totally new into the development.
Reply
#24
According to the Chief Building Officer for the city, there's a four foot by 12 inch horizontal hole in the Young Street side of the foundation, where the water service enters the building and fifteen feet away a vertical peer is bowed out six inches. One can't be worked on because the vibrations would adversely affect the other area. Young is closed to limit vibrations. He expected that a demolition contractor could be on scene and working by the 27th. Currently negotiations are ongoing with the owner to preserve some various artifacts that can be safely removed.
Reply
#25
I think they'd have a hard time shoring up the King Street wall without a good foundation on the young street side. Especially if everything is at risk of collapse it would be dangerous to get workers inside to work on things. In Guelph the old stone building on Douglas Street burned a number of years ago and they did save the facade but there was a large steel structure built behind it to keep it up while they built a new building behind it. It's the building that's beside the CIBC connected to the mall.

I'm sure it'll make a fine parking lot Wink
Reply
#26
(04-17-2015, 07:28 AM)Spokes Wrote: Wow.  That came out of nowhere.

I wonder if they'll design the new building to match, or incorporate something totally new into the development.

Spokes, I'm not sure from your post if you know that the Mayfair site no longer belongs to Andrin.  Local Downtown landlord, Bernie Nimer, bought it a couple of years ago.  I don't think he is in the business of building new developments, so maybe a sale back to Andrin could be something we'll see in the future. 
Reply
#27
(04-17-2015, 09:23 AM)clasher Wrote: I'm sure it'll make a fine parking lot Wink

...which the heritage committee will be fighting to preserve one hundred years hence, they way they interpret their mission.
Reply
#28
(04-17-2015, 09:44 AM)BuildingScout Wrote:
(04-17-2015, 09:23 AM)clasher Wrote: I'm sure it'll make a fine parking lot Wink

...which the heritage committee will be fighting to preserve one hundred years hence, they way they interpret their mission.

LOL, in the age of flying robot cars we must preserve this last bastion of asphalt where rubber tired cars would be left to sit all day; an important part of our heritage when downtown was half parking lots we can't forget our roots.
Reply


#29
CBC interview with Mike Seiling: http://www.cbc.ca/player/Radio/Local+Sho...664549596/
Reply
#30
The City of Kitchener has a report on the Mayfair situation along with a link to the structural report and a number of interior photos of the damage. It seems that beyond the immediate collapse risk, the building had a number of structural deficiencies that would make a reuse of this building economically unfeasible vs. a demolition and rebuild.

http://kitchener.ca/en/insidecityhall/11young.asp
Reply
« Next Oldest | Next Newest »



Forum Jump:


Users browsing this thread: 2 Guest(s)

About Waterloo Region Connected

Launched in August 2014, Waterloo Region Connected is an online community that brings together all the things that make Waterloo Region great. Waterloo Region Connected provides user-driven content fueled by a lively discussion forum covering topics like urban development, transportation projects, heritage issues, businesses and other issues of interest to those in Kitchener, Waterloo, Cambridge and the four Townships - North Dumfries, Wellesley, Wilmot, and Woolwich.

              User Links